Covid lockdown 'hokey cokey' is not helping anyone – Robert Aldridge

When the Covid lockdown started in March, I, like many Liberals, was worried that the government would find it very hard to give up the emergency powers which were needed at the time.

The time would never be right. Either the powers would not be working and would be needed for another few months, or they would be working and so the government would say it was important to keep them in place to stop bad things happening.

Over the past month, we have seen this only too clearly. The First Minister imposed additional restrictions in Edinburgh (and most of the Central Belt) for a maximum of 16 days. It was short and time-limited.

Then it was extended for a further seven days, partly because there were some signs it might be working and partly so that a new complicated tier system could be introduced. It was easier to carry on restricting our movement than to ease those restrictions as promised.

People are getting more and more confused about what they are allowed to do, and what falls foul of the rules. But everybody understands the basics, and the risks. Hand and surface washing, social distancing and wearing masks are straightforward. House parties are dangerous and must not happen. Older people, people who are overweight or have other vulnerabilities are most at risk of serious complications.

As the system gets more complex people are beginning to make their own calculations because their lives are complicated, the sets of rules don’t quite fit their circumstances or they are simply unsure which rules apply.

We have now been living under stringent restrictions for about eight months, but there is no clear plan about how and in what circumstances the emergency powers will be lifted.

New ways of imposing restrictions are developed, but there is no clear path out. It’s obvious Covid will not simply come to an end.

We will have to find a way to live with it in the medium or long term, making informed adult decisions about which risks we are prepared to take for the sake of our social, mental, physical and economic well-being and taking account of the risks we pose to others.

It’s time governments at Scottish and UK level began to plan how to return decision-making to the people to help us create the new normal.

I have always found that if you listen to people and if you trust them, you end up with great ideas, workable proposals and the best solutions. So rather than investing in ever more complex tiers of rules would it not be better to have a few simple clear rules and begin to plan to help people find their own acceptable level of living alongside the virus without endangering others?

Of course, it has risks, but doing the ‘lockdown hokey cokey’, lurching from lockdown to slight easing and back to lockdown, also has huge risks for health, social and economic well-being.

So let’s start slowly and carefully planning to trust the people again.

Robert Aldridge is the Liberal Democrat group leader on Edinburgh Council

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